WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has not discussed “formal plans” to deploy US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to polling sites at November’s midterm elections, the White House said on Thursday, while declining to rule out their presence near voting locations.
Trump said on Monday that Republicans should “nationalize” and “take over” voting in at least 15 unspecified locations, repeating his false claims that US elections are plagued by widespread fraud.
His remarks were echoed by Steve Bannon, a former Trump adviser and influential right-wing commentator, who repeated false claims that people living in the US illegally vote in large numbers and said on his War Room podcast on Tuesday, “You’re damn right we’re gonna have ICE surround the polls come November.”
Asked about Bannon’s comments, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “I can’t guarantee that an ICE agent won’t be around a polling location in November … but what I can tell you is I haven’t heard the president discuss any formal plans to put ICE outside of polling locations.”
Federal law prohibits the president from deploying military troops at any location holding a general or special election, and several states criminalize carrying firearms at or near polling places. Immigration enforcement, in particular, has caused both US citizens and legal residents to stay home out of fear of detention or racial profiling.
Democrats have raised concerns in recent months that Trump could deploy troops at polling locations to intimidate voters and interfere with the November elections that will determine control of Congress.
Some Republican lawmakers have been reluctant to back Trump’s call to nationalize elections. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he is “not in favor of federalizing elections,” while House Speaker Mike Johnson noted that “it’s always been the responsibility of the states to administer elections.”
Trump’s push to expand federal control over elections comes as his administration has stepped up pressure on many Democratic-led states to turn over voter data, with the Justice Department suing nearly two dozen states over their voter rolls.
Last week, the FBI searched an election office in Georgia’s Fulton County for records related to the 2020 election, as Trump continues to press false claims of fraud in his defeat.
Trump has no ‘formal plans’ to deploy ICE at polling sites, White House says
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Trump has no ‘formal plans’ to deploy ICE at polling sites, White House says
- Trump said on Monday that Republicans should “nationalize” and “take over” voting in at least 15 unspecified locations
- Leavitt said: “I can’t guarantee that an ICE agent won’t be around a polling location in November“
Pakistan, Afghan forces exchange fire after airstrikes deepen tensions
- Islamabad said Pakistani airstrikes on the weekend targeted camps of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State Khorasan Province in eastern Afghanistan, with security sources putting the militant death toll at 70
KABUL/ KARACHI: Pakistani and Afghan forces exchanged fire along their border on Tuesday, with each side accusing the other of initiating the clash, days after Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan strained already tenuous ties.
The incident marks the latest flare-up along the 2,600-km (1,615-mile) border, where tensions have risen since Pakistan’s strikes on Saturday and Sunday and threaten a fragile ceasefire following deadly clashes in October.
Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesperson for Pakistan’s prime minister, told Reuters the Afghan Taliban authorities had initiated “unprovoked firing” in the Torkham and Tirah sub-sectors along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
“Pakistan’s security forces responded immediately and effectively, silencing the Taliban aggression,” Zaidi said, warning that any further provocation would be met “immediately and severely.”
Afghan officials gave a different account, saying Pakistani forces opened fire and that Afghan troops responded.
Zabihullah Noorani, director of information and culture for Nangarhar province, said the incident took place in the Shahkot area of Nazyan district and that the fighting has since stopped with no Afghan casualties.
Separately, Mawlawi Wahidullah, spokesperson for an Afghan army corps responsible for security in eastern Afghanistan, said border forces were on patrol near the Durand Line in Achin and Durbaba districts when they came under fire, adding that the exchange was not retaliatory but a response to incoming fire.
Islamabad said Pakistani airstrikes on the weekend targeted camps of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State Khorasan Province in eastern Afghanistan, with security sources putting the militant death toll at 70.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said it had received “credible reports” that at least 13 civilians were killed and seven injured in Nangarhar. Taliban officials put the toll higher. Reuters could not independently verify the figures.
Pakistan says TTP leaders operate from Afghan territory, a charge Kabul denies.
